Our View: A message for Gardner Denver Thomas

If there is a silver lining in the fiasco that was the Monroe City Council's action against the proposed expansion at Gardner Denver Thomas, it is this: Citizens of the community have awakened.

The reaction of the community to the council's action was swift and probably painful for some of those who voted against it. So painful, in fact, that the immediate reaction was to back off the vote and re-introduce the proposal to a 4-1 passage at the next council meeting.

But the message for executives of Gardner Denver Thomas from the Monroe business and leadership community is this:

We appreciate your growth and expansion in our community. We appreciate your company's decision to be here. And we will fight to make sure your company has continued opportunities to grow here.

While the company has remained silent throughout this ordeal, the Monroe community has not.

Business leaders have come forward to insist that Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo and elected members of the Monroe City Council quit their bickering and fighting and work together for the community's betterment.

Tuesday night's council meeting was packed with people who wanted to be present to make sure the council did approve the Gardner Denver deal.

And on Wednesday, business leaders reiterated their position at a meeting with Mayo. Enough is enough, they said.

We've had enough of dysfunctional elected bodies, and we are through with the black eye this type of behavior gives our community.

We want to grow and prosper, and that cannot happen if businesses perceive our elected officials to be inept or corrupt.

If the elected officials of this community don't understand that we expect them to govern as a cohesive leadership group, the community is now alert to the problem and ready to act.

If there is a silver lining in this dark cloud that has blackened our community's image, that is it.

We will stand together as citizens, and we won't tolerate continued chaos in city government.

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Our View: A message for Gardner Denver Thomas

If there is a silver lining in the fiasco that was the Monroe City Council's action against the proposed expansion at Gardner Denver Thomas, it is this: Citizens of the community have awakened.